Town of Elkin

The Town of Elkin operates under a charter granted by the General Assembly and has powers and authorities granted to it by state statutes and the state constitution.

The Town was established to protect its citizens and provide residents with urban type services; examples of which are water, sewer, police, streets, recreation, garbage collection and recycling, land use planning and fire protection.

The elected board - called the Town Commissioners, is the governing body. There are 5 members on the Town Council.

The form of government includes mayor-council with a town manager. The mayor and council set policy and hire the manager to implement their policies. A manager has specified statutory authority, including hiring and firing of employees. The council also hired an attorney directly.

North Carolina mayors do not have veto power over council actions.

Municipal budget - One of the major responsibilities of every municipal governing board is to adopt the annual municipal budget, which determines what services will be provided and at what level. The board sets the municipal property tax rate when it adopts is annual budget. By law, all North Carolina budgets must be balanced, and there is a state agency that provides oversight over municipal finances.

Municipal revenues and expenditures - The major sources of municipal revenues are the ad valorem property tax and local option sales taxes. User fees for services, such as water and sewer, support the infrastructure, operational and maintenance costs of the systems themselves.